Jesus Christ was not a martyr. He was a sacrifice. When He voluntarily gave His life on the cross some 2000 years ago He did not die for a cause. He died for people.
During His ministry on earth He 'ordained twelve, that they should be with Him, and that He might send them forth to preach'. (Mk. 3:14). Just before His death on Calvary, Jesus prayed for His disciples. Over 40 times in that prayer He made reference to His disciples. During the brief ministry Jesus had on earth, He had the world on His heart, but He saw the world through the eyes of His church. Prior to His ascension He gave the local church what is commonly known as the 'great commission'. He sent them into the world to make disciples. Jesus had a world vision 'go ye into all the world' and He expected His church to also have a world vision. The plan was simple: make disciples.
Paul relates it to Timothy in 2 Tim.2:2. The key to making disciples is faithful men and women.' Tonight we want to look at some of the characteristics of a faithful person, the kind of God wants us to be.
There is much written and many seminars concerning how to be better husbands, wives, parents, etc. etc. Frequently in counseling a husband or wife will say to me, "I want to be a better marriage partner so my spouse will love me..." However, the key to becoming a better spouse is simply to determine to become the kind of person that God wants us to be!
I. Our objective in life should be the same as presented in the Scriptures.
A. Mt. 6:33, 'But seek ye first the kingdom of God and His righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you.'
1. It isn't often that the Lord Jesus told us to seek after something but here He gives us what is to be our objective in life.
2. Seek His kingdom, and His righteousness.
3. If we will do that first.
4. Then He will assume the responsibility for the rest of the things we need in life.
B. Our vocations must never be our life objectives.
1. No matter how wonderful and noble they may be, they are still temporal.
2. It isn’t a matter of what we do in life, it is more important what we do with our life.
3. A faithful man is a man who has chosen eternal objectives for his life.
II. We need to be willing to pay any price to have the will of God fulfilled in our life.
A. Having committed ourselves to God's objective, we must steadfastly resist the temptation of the world.
"Thou therefore endure hardness, as a good soldier of Jesus Christ. No man that warreth entangleth himself with the affairs of this life; that he may please him who hath chosen him to be a soldier." (2 Tim 2:3-4)
1. Paul advises Timothy not to get entangled with the affairs of the world.
2. They can choke us if we allow them to ... a good soldier must be ready for battle at anytime ... he must be free to go where he is ordered.
B. Note: Philippians 3:18-19
"(For many walk, of whom I have told you often, and now tell you even weeping, that they are the enemies of the cross of Christ:" (Phil 3:18)
"Whose end is destruction, whose God is their belly, and whose glory is in their shame, who mind earthly things.)" (Phil 3:19)
1. Those who mind earthly things are the enemies of the cross!
2. All that we hold dear; our family, our health, our jobs, our possessions, must be held with an open hand.
3. Everything must belong to Jesus Christ, He must be free to do with us and take from us as He pleases.
4. This doesn't mean we must live in constant fear of Christ, but that we realize that He loves us and always has our best interest at heart.
"And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose." (Rom 8:28)
III. We must have a love for the Word of God.
A. Does the Word have its rightful place in our life?
1. In the life of any servant of God, the Word of God deserves the highest priority.
2. It should truly be 'our daily bread'.
3. We should never grow weary of its study.
B. Does the Word of God have an active place in our life?
1. James said, 'Be ye doers of the word and not hearers only.’ Cf Jas. 1:22
2. It is our instruction manual for life and must be studied thoroughly.
3. The kind of person that God wants us to be not only loves the Word, but they live the Word.
IV. We need to have the heart of a servant.
A. Note.: Mt. 20:26-28
1. Jesus was instructing His disciples, on the importance of serving others.
2. Jesus exemplified that truth in everything that He did.
3. He lived and died for others!
B. The servant realizes the importance of the master.
1. Jesus said 'without me ye can do nothing'.
2. We must realize that truth and put no confidence in the flesh.
3. "…We should not trust in ourselves, but in God which raiseth the dead' 2Co.1:9
C. The servant does not have an independ- ent spirit.
1. Accomplishing the work of God is a team effort.
2. There is no room in the life of a servant for attitude that says, 'if it's not done my way, I won' t do it at all’.
3. God isn't looking for people who want to 'do the own thing." ... He is looking for someone who has the heart of a servant.
V. We need to have a love for people.
A. 'Herein is love, not that we loved God, but that He loved us, and sent His Son to be the propitiation for our sins' I Jn. 4:10
1. To be godly is to be God-like.
2. And to be like God is to love people.
3. Charlie Brown said, "I love the world, it's the people I can't stand."
4. But Jesus came to redeem the people.
5. The disciple is one who is involved in the lives of people.
B. Note: Hebrews 12:14-15
1. Many are defiled by bitterness springing up.
2. Bitterness comes as a result of real or supposed ill-treatment; it really doesn't matter which.
3. Whether or not we have been wronged is immaterial; we must guard against bitterness in our lives.
4. Jesus said ‘They shall know ye are my disciples if ye have love one to another’
Are we the kind of person that God wants us to be tonight? No more excuses! Let’s get honest before God and with ourselves this evening.
If we are the kind of people God wants us to be, we can be used of God! Let’s determine to be what God wants tonight! If you are not a Christian, God wants you to be saved. Christian, God wants us to be faithful!